War hero pays his respects, a decade after being shot in Basra

As a fourth generation military man, Morley soldier Simon Brown knows all about making a sacrifice for his country.

Last week, he attended a ceremony at Bruntcliffe Cemetery to commemorate the military service of his ancestor.

The ceremony, organised by the Morley British Legion, included prayers and wreath laying to mark 100 years since the death of Simon’s great-grandfather’s cousin, Field Artillery driver, Willie Lupton.

Simon said: “It was a touching ceremony - strange to think that four generations of my family were volunteering to serve.

“And it was an honour to represent the Morley branch of British Legion and lay the wreath in his honour.”

Simon himself knows what life is like in battle, serving as a corporal with REME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineer) in Basra, in Iraq.

It was in December 2006 when he was shot in the head by a sniper.

He was tasked to rescue six colleagues whose vehicle had broken down. He was preparing to withdraw from the area when he was hit by sniper fire. A bullet entered his left cheek and emerged from his right cheek, shattering both cheekbones, destroying his left eye and severely damaging his right eye.

Lying in his hospital bed, the then 29-year-old said he thought his life was over. It has been 10 years since he was shot as he saved his comrades. But he remembers what happened like it was yesterday.

Simon said: “As a crew we saved six lives, we couldn’t leave them there.

“It was an armed vehicle and I put my head up and the sniper shot me in my left cheek. I was able to do my own first aid for 25 minutes before being taken to hospital and put in a drug induced coma.”

When he next woke up he was in hospital in Birmingham on Christmas Eve 2006.

“When I woke up I thought that was it, my life had finished as I knew it,” he said.